Japan Press Weekly

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2024 September 18 - 24 [POLITICS]

JCP Koike criticizes call for snap election immediately after LDP presidential race as outrageous

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira at a press conference held in the Diet building on September 17 criticized a Liberal Democratic Party presidential candidate for stating that he would dissolve the Lower House and hold a general election immediately if he is nominated as new Prime Minister. Koike called this proposal “outrageous.”

Former Environment Minister Koizumi Shinjiro, who is running for the LDP presidency, stated that he would “dissolve the House of Representatives as soon as possible” after the presidential election.

Koike said, “Q & A sessions between party representatives and the new Prime Minister in plenary sessions in addition to Q & A sessions in the Budget Committees should take place in both Houses.” He added, “Only through these discussions can the political stance of the new Prime Minister and his new Cabinet on various issues be presented to the general public.”

Koike noted, “One candidate said they are already discussing various issues in the LDP presidential election campaign so further discussions will no longer be necessary in the Diet.” However, he pointed out, “The debate within the LDP and the debate in the Diet where opposition parties are present is completely different in character.”

He went on to say, “What the new Prime Minister should do is to candidly answer the opposition parties’ questions and engage in Diet discussions in order to provide the general public with sufficient information for making a decision, and then seek a popular mandate in a general election. This is the responsibility of the government and the Diet, and it’s the established way of constitutional government.”

He stated, “If the House of Representatives is dissolved for a snap election immediately after the LDP presidential election, the LDP will be said to have refused to engage in a Diet debate.”